2019 National Association of Biology Teachers Conference

At the 2019 National Association of Biology Teachers Conference, Knowles Program Staff Michele Cheyne will deliver two presentations. Who Isn’t Talking: Student Status and Increasing Participation in the Science Practices will be held on Saturday, November 16 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in Superior A. In this presentation, participants will reflect on students’ classroom participation patterns; identifying students who are active participators, those who are not, and the impact on those students’ learning.

Her second presentation, Increasing Engagement for All Students with inclusive Low Floor, High Ceiling Tasks in Biology, will be held on Saturday, November 16 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. in Superior A. This session will allow participants to identify and utilize features of inclusive low floor, high ceiling tasks that increase access for all students.

Four Knowles Senior Fellows–Jim Lane, Kirstin Milks, Isaac Stewart, and Stephen Traphagen–and their colleagues will also present two workshops that bookend the conference. The first will be held Thursday, November 14 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Michigan A and is titled Designing Courses to Integrate Student-Centered Learning: A Constructivist Workshop. In this presentation, participants will explore the features and implementation of some popular constructivist strategies, work with a framework to select and sequence these strategies to build coherent learning cycles for students, and engage with coaching and resources on how to work with these strategies beyond the conference.

Their second session, Debrief, Coaching, and Networking around Student-Centered Active Learning will be held on Sunday, November 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Superior A. This session will include a period to share and debrief what participants learned at sessions throughout the conference, use a sequencing/Learning Cycle framework to integrate NABT learning directly into courses, and network and begin professional learning conversations with other participants interested in similar courses and learning topics.